Photo by Juli Moreira on Unsplash
Updated post first published Jun 17, 2008
Letting Your Blog Go #1
Problem:
Perhaps the fastest way to let your blog go is to stop posting to it. It can happen for many reasons whether it be your life getting busy, suffering from a bout of bloggers block or becoming distracted by another project.
Most bloggers go through one or all of these issues at one point or another and as a result posting frequency can drop, if not stall completely.
Solution:
The solution is pretty obvious – if you want a vibrant blog – you do need to post to it.
While your archives might contain a lot of great content and people will find them via search engines – if you’re wanting to grow your blog you will only be able to do that if you add fresh content on a regular basis.
I know it’s not easy – all successful bloggers go through patches where it’s challenging to keep things rolling – however if you put your mind to it you can definitely get things back on track. It is never too late to get your blog rolling again!
9 Tips to Get Posting Frequency Higher On Your Blog:
1. Set Goals and Deadlines – If you’ve let your blog go through lack of posting – set yourself some goals this week to pull yourself out of your rut. Don’t be too ambitious – but set yourself some achievable goals to get yourself going again. Perhaps your goal will be simply to post once this next week. The week after ramp it up to twice, the week after aim for three times….
2. Try Something New – one of the tactics that I find most helpful in getting my posting frequency back up is to try something new on my blog. Whether it be tackling a topic I’ve not looked at before, starting some kind of project or competition, starting a series of posts or writing in a different style or voice – sometimes doing something ‘new’ can not only give you energy but your readers also.
3. If you’re suffering from Bloggers Block – I’ve written a series of posts on how to battle bloggers block and have compiled it all into one page here. One of the tips in that series is to try a new blogging environment. I regularly get out of the house to do some blogging (cafes are my favorite place) but really any change can be helpful. If you’re not able to actually take your computer out of the house (you don’t have a laptop) then grab a notebook and head out with that to brainstorm topics, write or do some planning of your blog.
4. If you’re simply feeling apathy towards Blogging – I’ve written a post on Declaring War on Blogger Apathy which has a few practical suggestions on how to get through that challenge. One thing that I mention in that post is to try writing shorter posts. I find that sometimes I get quite uninspired if I set myself the task to write a long post. It all can seem a little overwhelming and a little too much like hard work. So why not break down the topic into something more bite sized? I find that when I do this I can get a post written quite quickly and also find that readers sometimes appreciate something a little more focused and able to be read quickly.
5. Develop a Points System – Last year I posted about a points system that one blogger developed to keep their blogging moving along. While it might not be perfect for you – I like the idea of it and it can easily be adapted to suit your situation.
6. Set Rewards – some people respond well to rewards and incentives (I know I do). Once you’ve set some goals or made your points system – set yourself a few rewards that you’ll give yourself when you reach certain milestones.
7. Find a Blog Buddy – I mention in a couple of the links above about how I find it motivating to work with another person in my blogging. Share your goals with another blogger (or non blogger if you want) and ask them to keep you accountable to them. If you’re looking for a blog buddy you might even like to ‘advertise’ for one in the comments below this post. Pair up with another ProBlogger reader for a week or two and see what you could achieve together.
8. Repurpose Something from Your Daily Life as a Post – a few weeks ago I shared how one great way to come up with new content is to look at something you already do in your daily life and work out how to capture it and repurpose it as a post. Video yourself doing something, record a conversation, use an email interaction etc. So many things that you do each day are potential content for your blog – the key is to be aware of them and find a way to collect and use them.
9. Start Blogging
OK – I could talk about how to get yourself going for paragraphs and paragraphs – but in doing so I’m probably just distracting you from the task at hand. So now it’s time to go and do it. Step away from the distractions that might be stopping you from blogging and go and do it. Go on – I know you can!!!
I think writing shorter posts can be a great way to write more frequently and not feel the blogger’s block as much. You can knock them out much faster, but you have to balance them with some long posts as well. What are your thoughts on post length as far as SEO is concerned? I’ve heard that less than 300 words is probably not good for getting a page ranked highly in the SERPs.
I think a Lack of Posting is probably the number 1 way to let go of your blog – because a lack of fresh content = a lack of RSS clickthrough visitors and decreasing Search Engine visitors (because SE’s love new content). Over time this will take its toll on your traffic, and income.
One of the ways I’ve tried to combat this, which you havn’t mentioned, is opening the site up for guest posts. This can be a great way of putting some new content on the site, and to start networking with other bloggers. Even paying bloggers to write has worked well for me and has meant a continued increase in RSS subscribers.
If you feel guilty to write short posts, you can blog at hubpages or something. Once you get ideas flowing to write longer posts, you can start writing for your blog again.
One of my problems is that I contribute to various places, as well as my own blogs. I’m starting to get more organized via BLOG BINDER and write down topics as soon as they come to me.
I agree that regularly posting keeps things alive for sure. I can see a huge difference when I don’t post. Even still, I’d rather not post when I have nothing to say, than to try and create a junk post just to fill the gap.
As you mentioned in #4, it really helps me to break a topic into smaller posts. I usually take a topic and divide across a whole week, adding something new every day. That is always the week when blog visits increase the most.
Thanks for the tips! I’ll be sure to share them with a friend I have that tries so hard to publish long posts that ends up getting discouraged and writing only once a month.
I’ve had to let my blogs go in the past, and it was always for the first reason given. It’s not always easy to think of something to write about, and even if you think it up… it’s hard to get an inspiration for it.
One thing that really works for me is visualizing that one reader out that there whose life might be truly changed for the better from my next post (or next one or next). I might never know who they are or if I really made a difference, but I know this stuff would have made a difference for me. So, I write for the people who might be in similar bad situations a I have been and try to help them through them with less heartbreaking mistakes. More than any other mental device, this little reminder gets me to beeline straight for my computer and keep on working.
All great points, Darren. Thanks a lot!
A very needed post. Sometimes it is like pulling hair to get a topic to write about! We will definitely put some of these ideas to use! We did just post our 100th post today!
Thanks Darren!
~thenibblers
I haven’t yet experienced writer’s block, but do occasionally have difficulty finding the needed time to write and publish.
Your suggestion to schedule time to write, especially undisturbed time, has worked very well for me for a few months now.
I also make sure to have a good mix of shorter posts with longer (authority) posts, that are quickly snagged by search engine traffic. While some posts are “social” posts, getting quite a good number of comments, I also enjoy the “meatier” posts that dig deep into topics of interest coming from search engine traffic.
Also including blog relevant Google Trends posts has brought an enormous increase in traffic, but it’s important to make sure each are relevant to your blog theme.
I found one of the greatest tools for me to keep posts coming up regularily on my financial blog was to write posts in bulk and then just scedule them to be posted when I want them to be
I firstly
1. Set an acheivable goal
– Really I want to be posting 2 times a day at least, but my schedule doesn’t allow it. I found 4 times a week was an achieveable goal for my finance blog I did that. I then write in bulk and have it scheduled weeks in advance
2. Have a holiday
– I work 3 weeks on and then have a compelte break for a week. This keeps my mind fresh and the ideas flowing. And while I am on holiday the posts keep going because I have scheduled them
Hopes this helps everyone
To battle this I come up with a publishing schedule. It is a combination of High-quality original posts and shorter (but still high quality) “utility” type posts.
I think part of the trick is to take the pressure off by understanding every post won’t be a home run.
Plus, blogging is a community, so share with your readers what other bloggers are doing on their blogs… they’ll appreciate you providing them the great content, even if it is on someone else’s blog. I use software to make all this easier so I’m not sitting in front of the screen asking, “what do I write about now?”
Great points.
ON THE OTHER HAND..with a few exceptions (like ‘Problogger’) people simply DO NOT NOTICE when there’s a blog skipped here and there from a regular schedule! There is too much empty, bad, worthless content on too many blogs because of this push to post. If you don’t have anything to say, be quiet. As Seth’s Blog recently pointed out, sometimes silence is a virtue.
Whenever I don’t have much to write about it’s usually because myself I’m no longer satisfied with a certain aspect of my blog, fixing that and my appetite for blogging returns.
One thing which absolutely does miracles for me is stick to smaller posts overall, even though on certain subjects I could probably write dozens of pages if I took the time for it (and note to self I should) the majority of things simply is what I come by of interest, share some of my views on the matter and period.
Needless lengthening of an entry simply to reach a certain amount of words or so just leads me to forget about my blog as its becoming too forced to write to it.
I will give push up in July, currently i
have two much stuff to work and i
can’t do anything special new on my blog.
Two things I find important for me: to schedule blog posts (I get along quite well with posting three times a week) and one thing I haven’t tried yet: the point system. I think this coudl work for me, too. I have to think how many points I will give to a certain activity – I think this has to be done individually.
I haven’t experienced lack of motivation to write yet. But I like Adnan’s idea – opening up the blog for guest comments. It would keep generating fresh content.
But apart from that, when some user says how much she / he has liked an article, it makes your day. And it is a BIG motivation to keep writing.
This works very well for me!
not a bad tip about blog buddies. i’m lucky in that one of my friends from college started a similar blog to my own around the same time, so we’ve been going through the highs and lows together, to an extent. it’s been helpful to have a buddy going along for the same ride– esp when no one else wants to hear me babble about my sitemeter anymore!! ;)
I can use a blog buddy! Any takers? ;)
I definitely have writers blog on my business blog, but my site/store hasn’t officially launched so I have time to build up what I want to post. On the current blog, I am doing OK, but can post more often.
Thanks for the thoughts. Now that blogger.com has post dating of articles, it’s much easier to write more while you are motivated, and save some posts for when you have writer’s block.
I’ve recently started doing a link post every week. It’s just links to a bunch of articles that I found interesting that week, and my own thoughts. I found that it’s useful and working out great for many reasons.
1. That’s automatically one post per week without doing too much research.
2. It allows me to lump all the off-topic thoughts together. I have many off-topic thoughts throughout the week, and instead of interleaving them in on-topic posts, I can do this to group them together.
3. It’s useful for people that don’t use social bookmarking sites.
4. I will feel bad if all I do is posting links, so this also motivates me to write actual content.
This is a fascinating post. Thanks Darren. I have got three blogs, and they are really all just beginning to get traffic.
I recently figured out that one of my blogs, which I am pretty passionate about, is “losing out” to the other two. I am not posting anywhere near as many posts on it, even though I am trying to get it going.
The reason is my three blogs have different styles. The one that doesn’t get enough posts (Patienthacker) has articles with insider tips for healthcare consumers. The posts are longer, and are “stand alone,” as they grow mainly out of my medical experience rather than the rest of the blogosphere. The other posts I write are simpler, quicker and I need to be online.
So I have started to work on solving the problem by:
– taking my computer to a different place to write posts for patienthacker, so I can concentrate on the actual writing
– making an “allowance” of 3/wk for my other blogs so that if I write more posts, I have to delay posting them until the next scheduled day.
– keeping a list in my iPhone of every idea for a post for patienthacker, so that I avoid bloggers block (and the time I do spend is more productive).
Anyway, I hope this process helps others that may be just starting out.
I know this FIRST HAND. I started contributing to PunchlineMagazine.com and started writing a screenplay and next thing I know, months went by before adding new content to my blog. I started reposting this past week and have created a few more niche blogs to work for. My question is – should I fill it with content before launching it or launch and fill as I go?
I was having this issue a few months and decided to do a little refocus on my writing by using one word titles. I also set a goal of trying to update my blog MWF.
I have also find participating in a theme day helps get through writers block.
I was having trouble a few weeks ago and then I realized that I was trying to write too much like the articles I was submitting to directories. I noticed that writers on blogs write more personally and make it more fun. I have changed my style along those lines and it is easier.
Something that I have done regularly is to schedule my posts long in advance. When I decide to write about a topic, I start brainstorming and then write posts about the different facets of the ideas. Rather than putting all of those posts in a row, I stretch them out over several weeks. This way I’m only trying to fill in a couple of holes here and there. The side effect is that I’m able to make subtle revisions to the posts simply by looking through the upcoming schedule of posts.
I’ve started by giving myself a set posting schedule and a goal to write at least two posts more a week than I plan to publish. This way I have a backlog of posts during those slow times when ideas may be lacking. I also use a software application called Scrivener to horde ideas and research notes.
Rick
It amazes me how many sites just give up. Even quality sites that have just thrown in the towel after a few months. People tend to think blogging will get them rich over night and fail to understand the work involved in the process.
I was quite ambitious at first about posting many articles a day but then I think it doesn’t make sense to have 5 new post one day and the no new post for 3 or 4 days.
So now even though I am writing a lot, I only limit myself to publish 1 post a day so I can buy some more time. Blogging is fun if I don’t put so much pressure on myself. Nothing good can come from self-sabotage.
I was kind of tempted to create more niche blogs since they are very easily to do and quite cheap, but then I decided against this idea of multiple blogs simultaneously, well, for my anyway. If my current relationship blog is successful, then I might think about starting another blog.
I have a small notepad by my computer, another in my car, and another by my bed, so I can capture post ideas when the come to me.
I also have several drafts and titles going all the time.
Then when I feel stuck or uninspired, I’ve collected some resources to help me get going again.
Definitely needed to see this. I have been slacking for days now and keep telling myself that I’m going to write something. I keep making excuses. Thanks for the heads up.
I always seem to have bursts of blogging moments, like for example the other day i was blogging for about 5 hours and i wrote 4 decent articles however since then i have wrote none as of yet.
My blogging seems to come in sudden spurses.
Great article. :)
Wow. I’ve been defiantly this lately. I dunno what’s the problem. It could be the fact that I’m a high school junior becoming a senior this year, or it could be the fact that I’m busting my butt looking for colleges right now. Either way, I need to slap out of it. Thx for the post
Thought proviking post. Thank you for it!!!
I too had the same problems of not updating the blog due to personal work. The tips seems good I will try for ones…
I found one that worked for me the other day. Force yourself to use a specific form. I was writing quick articles for one of my niche blogs the other day. I used a specific form to get them done quickly. Afterwards, I wrote a boatload of articles using the form for all of my blogs. I was using the grade school essay form: 300-500 words, 5 paragraphs, intro-body-conclusion.
Sometimes locking yourself up frees you.
I recommend to write several posts at once and schedule them to appear in the future. It will make your life easier.
Posting in advance and writing them at once (batch processing) helped me a lot to keep a regular frequenzy of blog posts.
Not to mention, batch posting/writing could be a very relevant solution to writer’s block for any blogger.
I know I’ve found skribit (just a fan, not an employee etc) to be useful for blogger’s block. It’s a widget that lets your readers suggest topics they want to read about on the blog. Interesting concept!
Man, very very true. I’m definetly prone to this bloggin no-no.
I often loose interest for short periods of time and my sites suffer. I need to get over this and hopefully your post can help me :)
GG
Im new to blogging and i’ve made the decision to become a problogger. Im just starting to see how much work is involved but I’m loving it right now.I hope that I will be able to get pass the hard times to come. I’m in it for the long run and these articles are very helpful to a new blogger. Thank you all for helping me now and in the future.
When you’re feeling especially creative, it’s possible to bust out a few decent quality posts in a short period of time. I find this especially helpful, because I often get sidetracked.
Darren – are you a mind reader? This article is definitely pertinent to me at the moment. I am really on catch up with my blog. It’s not so much by being a couch potato, such as the dear, wee moggy in your picture, (much as I love being a couch potato occasionally), but more summer exams, which are now, thankfully, over.
I am trying like mad to catch up with posting to my blog, but sometimes, when you have left it for ages, it seems to take a monumental effort.
My concentrating on my studies may have been worth it though, as my exam results are good, and I have come out with an overall first for my first year. So unexpected! So happy!
Keep up the good work, Darren – I need your tips and pep talks!
Lately this has been my major down fall on ABAN. My other blog relies more on search engine traffic because it caters to a niche audience. I can not post on it for a month and traffic just increases during that time, but on ABAN I miss a day or two of posting and it takes a nose dive.
I think posting so much isn’t good.
I have posts that have 50 visitors daily from Google only and others that don’t have a visitor from all the resources!
Personally, I would put up posts whenever I found something that I would like to share. Be it twice a day or once a week. I realised from my experienced that, if I were to delay the posting, it will just never get posted.
Thanks for that. I have found myself in a huge rut recently because I just have lost all enthusiasm for it. One of the tips that I would say to people is don’t get to caught up in adding widgets to your blog. They will quickly become irrelevant, unnecessary and annoying to users.
Thanks
Wow! Talk about instant results…I read your blog about getting your butt in gear and INSTANTLY wrote a post on my blog. Took me about 10 minutes. It was my first post in over a month.
Thanks man! You’re an amazing e-mentor.
Jonathan Sprinkles
http://www.yourconnectioncoach.com
Anuar,
I second that notion.
Matthew,
You are so right. I would recommend batch processing when it comes to blogs or pretty much anything.
When you have the energy for it, knock out a whole lot so that when you don’t have the energy, you have a nice stock on hand to cover your dry spell.